


Sincerely Yours

by Vein_Is_Simply_Tired



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: (Almost) Role Reversal, But He Doesn't Realize That, But Mostly Just Victuuri, But Victor is Still Gold and Yuuri is a Choreographer Not Coach, Cannon Divergence, Choreographer!Yuuri, Everyone Else Is The Same As Cannon, Generally Good Feels, Generally Happy Story With Happy Ending, He Charms Victor Too, M/M, Victuuri Is Life and Love, Victuuri With Some Plot, Yuuri Charms Everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-23 18:30:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9670871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vein_Is_Simply_Tired/pseuds/Vein_Is_Simply_Tired
Summary: If you run out of inspiration, then you're dead.But is it really true?Yourunning out of inspiration doesn't meaneveryone elsedoes too.So when Chris picks up hints of Victor feeling dissatisfied with his choreography, he sells out his latest choreographer. The fact that his latest choreographer is an adorable, and absolutely charming cinnamon roll is just a nicebonus.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta-ed by [Empress_Arisu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empress_Arisu/pseuds/Empress_Arisu), thank you very much!!!
> 
> Yuuri is 24 while Victor is 28.
> 
> Underlined words are spoken on the speaker's native language.

“Yuuri Katsuki speaking.” Yuuri picks up a call while watching Chris do his warm-up loops. He listens to the caller’s introduction then disconnects the call.

Chris seems to notice the oddity as he skates closer. “What’s wrong, Yuuri?”

“It’s nothing, just a prank call.”

“A prank?” Chris pushes.

“An unknown number claiming to be Victor Nikiforov.” Yuuri gives a wry smile.

“Oh,” Chris lazily smiles at Yuuri, “It’s probably really him, you know?”

Yuuri snorts. “Come on, Chris.”

“I recommended you to him.” Chris drops the bomb with an equally lazy tone.

Yuuri freezes, then slowly says, “Chris,  _Victor_  choreographs his own  _gold_  winning routine. What would he need a choreographer like me for?”

Chris wraps one arm around Yuuri’s waist while using his other hand to tap on his own phone, and Yuuri’s eyes widen when he sees Chris video calling a contact named [Victor ♥♥♥].

He has a mini panic attack when the call connects, and a way too familiar face appears on the screen.

“Hi~ Victor~” Chris greets.

“Chris! He hung up on me!” Victor rants out in lieu of a greeting. 

“Yuuri can be really shy sometimes, right Yuuri?” Chris pulls Yuuri closer.

And Yuuri’s mind stops working when Victor’s blue eyes zeroes in on him, then he smiles his blinding smile, “Oh! So you’re Yuuri? Hi!”

Yuuri gathers himself and apologizes, “Ah! I’m so sorry for hanging up on you! I thought it’s a prank call!”

Victor waves it out, “Don’t worry, it’s understandable~”

Chris detaches himself from Yuuri and continues his warm up.

He spent several years watching Victor’s enthusiasm dim as his gold count rises. While retirement due to physical condition is inevitable, Chris doesn’t want Victor to retire because he is  _bored_. He tries to become a better competitor, but Victor’s  _Living Legend_  moniker is too well deserved.

So when he picked up hints of Victor feeling dissatisfied with his choreography, he sold out his latest choreographer. Victor wasn’t sold on the idea, but Chris can be really pushy when he wants to, thus Victor eventually relented.

Chris glances at Yuuri, who tries hard to be professional with an adorable light blush on his cheek, and smiles. Well, the fact that his latest choreographer is an adorable and absolutely charming cinnamon roll  _and_  a Victor fan is just a nice  _bonus_.

* * *

Later that night, Yuuri calls his family to inform them about his change of plan.

Originally, after his job with Chris ends, he plans to go back home for 2 weeks before flying off to his next job. His schedule afterwards is fully booked till the next 3 months, but he can’t make  _Victor_  wait that long… 

Yuuri smothers himself with his pillow.

He still can’t believe this is happening, and doesn’t understand  _why_  this is happening.

 

Victor is finished with his next season’s choreography and from the recording Yuuri received, it is  ~~very beautiful~~  more than enough to win gold with at least 10 points margin from silver already. Victor doesn’t  _need_  him to refine it at all.

‘Whatever the real reason is, he did contact me, and a job is a job.’ Yuuri grips his pillow, ‘I have to give my best!’

* * *

0-0-0-0

1 Week Later

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Dance Studio

Day 1

0-0-0-0

Victor leans on the wall as he watches his newest choreographer walk to the center of the studio.

Honestly speaking, Victor doesn’t see the point of hiring him, but at least he’s easy in the eyes. Had Chris recommended someone like their respective coaches, he would have absolutely refused. 

Yuuri claims he has his revised routine, and that it is quicker and clearer to show than to tell.

Victor raises an eyebrow when Yuuri declines on the music, but then Yuuri  _moves_.

Overall, the movement is not that much different from Victor’s choreography, but the way he  _moves_ …

 

‘Oh…’ Victor thought with slightly wider eyes that intently stares at the moving figure, ‘So that is why he declined the music. He doesn't  _need_  it.’

It’s like a charm spell, once you look, you can’t avert your eyes. If you keep looking, then you can hear the music without sound. Even without fancy jumps, it is absolutely beautiful.

The air stills a few seconds after Yuuri finishes the routine, and breaks as Yuuri strikes his ending pose, and Victor gasps.

Yuuri’s polite smile has traces of hesitation, but he delivers his question, “Well… something like that? Do you have any comments?”

Victor sure does, “Yuuri! That was  _perfect_! Absolutely beautiful! Why aren’t you a  _dancer_?”

“Eh?” Yuuri looks taken aback by the question, and his smile turns a bit self-deprecating, “Well there are circumstances…” he answers in low voice, “Any comment on the routine itself?”

“None!” Victor exclaims and brightly smiles, “I look forward to working with you!”

“Ah, me too?” Yuuri looks confused. They had said these lines a few minutes before, but this time, Victor  _means_   _it_.

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Dance Studio

Day 2

0-0-0-0

“This is you, right?” Victor turns his phone towards Yuuri to show Yuuri’s approved account.

“Ah, yes.”

“What is your private account?” Victor asks as he scrolls.

“That is my only account.”

“Eh? But you’re barely here, Yuuri! Most of these are just people whom you choreographed for!”

“Errr, that is why I made that account? Self-promotion?”

Victor eyed him like he can’t believe what he sees. Yuuri inwardly sighs.

* * *

“You should raise your left arm a bit here… Keep your head low here, and look up at this point,” Yuuri gives comments and pointers as he and Victor go through the recording of Victor’s routine.

“Alright, once more?” Yuuri offers.

“You’re pretty much a perfectionist, aren’t you Yuuri?” Victor exhales then smiles brightly, “Alright! Once more coming right up~”

Yuuri fidgets inside. Victor is different, a good kind of different than what Yuuri expects him to be… But sometimes, he wishes he could understand Victor better, since, just like the remark before, he doesn’t know whether to take it as a good thing, a bad thing, or just a thing.

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Dance Studio

Day 4

0-0-0-0

“Wow~!” Victor exclaims as he watches today’s recording. He finally manages to get one [pass] from Yuuri today, and when compared to the original routine recording, the differences are clear.

“What magic are you using Yuuri?” he asks. 

“Magic?”

“Yes! The whole routine doesn’t differ much from the original, but the  _feeling_  it gives is way more palpable~”

“Oh, I won’t call it magic… But it’s body language.”

“Hmmm? But I did implement that concept before.”

Yuuri gives a small placating smile, “I do need an extra edge to keep my job,” a roundabout way to say Victor is not bad, Yuuri is just better.

“Huh. Now I get why most of Yuuri’s clients are famous dancers and even dance groups.” Victor offhandedly states.

“Ah… I tend to get lucky and have people referring me to other famous people. Just like you and Chris actually.”

“Right, Chris. You’re great Yuuri, Chris’ score last season was the closest anyone ever got to my score in the last 3 years or so? I wonder why he referred you to me.”

“Chris is the one that works hard, but I do wonder about that too.”

“Hmmm…” they think about that for a while before Yuuri decides to prioritize, “Well, that aside, how about running through your routine once more? We can take it to the ice tomorrow.”

Victor brightens, “Yes!”

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 5

0-0-0-0

Yakov assesses the newest addition to their rink, and the effect he has on Vitya.

Vitya, for all his airheadedness and forgetfulness, is probably the most self-sufficient student of his.

Yakov went along with Vitya’s suggestion of choreographing his own routine years ago, when Vitya proved his creation was good enough for gold. But maybe he should’ve pushed Vitya to get one, one or two years back when Vitya started to lose his passion.

He watches as Yuuri smiles at something a tired but cheerful Vitya says. But then again, for all Yuuri’s talent in choreographing, it might be his  _presence_  that is the biggest source of Vitya’s newfound spark.

Anyone with eyes can see that Yuuri adores Vitya-  _a long time fan perhaps?_ \- but he tries to be professional and mostly treats Vitya like he is a skater in need of improvement instead of a 4 time straight gold winner. 

And Vitya  _thrives_  on the challenge and, more importantly,  _attention_  Yuuri provides.

He always had an idea that his top skater was a tad bit lonely, but he is simply not made to console people on that kind of stuff. Pepping up your skaters’ mentality for a competition is one thing, but fixing their life relationship problem is another thing altogether.

‘Looks like I need to train Georgi harder,’ Yakov remarks. Vitya’s gold this season is a guaranteed fact while Yuri is shaping nicely under Lilia. Georgi is going to need all the help he can get if he wants to get a spot on the podium.

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 6

0-0-0-0

Had anyone said to Yuuri, 1 month ago, that he will be choreographing for Victor Nikiforov, he would either respond with a sarcastic [right], or with a sigh and an [I wish].

But here he is.

He inwardly sighs. If he was not a fan of Victor before, he definitely would be one now. And if he was a figure skater himself,  ~~he quickly suppresses the longing that follows the thought~~ , he would be tempted to complain and criticize the whole [God is Fair] speech.

 

What would take other skaters  _months_  to learn, Victor learn in  _days_. No wonder nobody could even come close to his score. Russia’s [Living Legend]… A classic answer of [hard work beats talent, but what if talent works hard].

“Yuuri, how is that?” Victor beams as he finishes another round.

“Wonderful!” Yuuri can’t help but to smile back, “Just a little bit more on that… … …”

‘I was really worried at the rumor of his retirement, but I should’ve known better than trust gossip,’ Yuuri remarks to himself, ‘Now if I can stop myself from going deeper into fanboy hole,  _because real life Victor, with all his quirks, is a whole new dimension of better than media Victor,_  it would be perfect.’

He definitely would do anything to get this season’s shiny foiled Victor poster. Limited edition be damned.

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 7

0-0-0-0

“Alright, that’s perfect!” Yuuri smiles, “You’re so good, I swear this might be the easiest job ever.”

Victor wipes his sweat and grins, “Do I get a discount then?”

“Too bad for you,” Yuuri grins back, “I don’t do price re-negotiations.”

“Then, contract extension?” Victor looks hopeful.

Yuuri pauses and replies in a more serious manner, “I don’t think you need it. In fact, I’m open to re-negotiation since there is still 1 week left, but we’re pretty much done already.”

“No,” Victor sharply answers, then he smiles, “Let’s go for a mini-celebration dinner tonight!”

“Sure~” Yuuri wryly smiles back.

“Then, I’ll pick you up at 7 tonight? Which hotel are you staying at?” Victor happily continues.

“Eh?”

“7 is no good? Then 8? Or 6 will also do.”

“Wait, you’re actually  _serious_?”

“Of course!” Victor exclaims, then pauses for a second before continuing in a dejected tone, “Unless… you don’t want to?”

“No no no no,” Yuuri vehemently denies, “I can’t think of anyone who would refuse a dinner with you!”

Victor gives him a pointed stare.

Yuuri shifts, “It’s just… I'm just surprised that you really want to.”

Victor frowns, “You’re weird Yuuri.”

Yuuri swallows the urge to say, ‘ _You_ ’re the weird one,’ instead, he slowly replies, “Okay then… If you really want to.”

“I do,” Victor replies with conviction, “So what time and which hotel Yuuri?”       

“7 is fine, [inBox].”

“Great!” Victor’s bright smile comes back, “It’s a date then!”

Yuuri is taken aback by the word [date], but settles for another wry smile. Victor is just being  _overly_   _friendly_ , much like how Chris likes to randomly grope and hug him without meaning anything.

* * *

The first thing Victor remarks as he drives after picking up Yuuri is, “It’s a capsule hotel Yuuri.”

“Yes?” Yuuri answers with slightly raised tone.

“It’s a  ** _capsule_**  hotel, Yuuri,” Victor repeats.

“I know? I  _stay_  there,” Yuuri’s voice has a hint of desperation in it.

“ ** _Why_**?”

“Uh… If you’re going to argue about that, can you do it later after we arrive? Please focus on the road first!  _God_ , I swear I’m seeing my life flashing before my eyes,” Yuuri tightly grips the handle in the black BMW as his eyes fearfully scan the road, only to see blurry outlines.

* * *

They arrive and Yuuri is busy taking deep breaths when Victor opens his door for him.

“Are you alright?” Victor says with concern as he extends his hand.

Yuuri hesitates for a split second before taking it, “ _We’re alive,_ ” he replies.

Victor genially smiles, “I was driving rather slow, though?”

Yuuri groans.

“Reservation under the name of Victor Nikiforov,” Victor says to the receptionist.

The receptionist lady looks dazzled before she snaps back to her job, “Ah yes! Private room for 2 people?”

Victor nods with a charming smile.

The receptionist went red as she directs them to follow her co-workers.

There, Victor pulls out Yuuri’s chair for him.

“Ah… I can do that on my own…” Yuuri is definitely not used to receiving this type of treatment.

“Sure you can,” Victor smoothly says, “But I still want to.”

…

…

…

“Now Yuuri,” he says after they finish ordering, “Since we’re here, mind telling me why you’re staying in a capsule hotel?”

“Well…” Yuuri thinks about it, “Since I’m just using it to sleep, I figure why not?”

Victor lightly frowns.

“It has good facilities, and is near a train station?”

Victor frowns a little bit harder.

At this point, Yuuri is lost, “Honestly speaking, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Admittedly, I’m not keeping track on current choreographer pricing rate, but I do feel that your rate is rather low… Am I not paying you enough Yuuri?”

“No, of course not. Rather, I feel like my current rate is a bit too high. I used to charge lower, but this is the rate which Chris insists on paying.”

Victor looks thoughtful, “Does that happen often?”

“?”

“People insisting on paying you higher.”

Yuuri recalls his previous jobs, “Bafflingly yes.”

“Huh,” Victor remarks but doesn’t comment any further.

A knock sounds, and the waiter comes in with their foods.

…

…

…

“ _Seriously_?!” Yuuri exclaims when Victor said that his gold winning Junior World FS costume was inspired by lingerie and bondage.

“Yup! The official story Yakov created was, [since I look rather androgynous for my age, I want to wear something that shows both sides of the gender]. In reality, it was just my puberty-self finding out about bondage for the first time and gets  _inspired_.”

Yuuri is torn between [too much info!] and [tell me more please], “Right, wait, so Yakov  _knows_?”

“Yes!” then he places one finger on his lip, “If you ask Yakov, he’ll always say that it is the time when he starts balding.”

“Haaah…” Yuuri thinks of the current state of Yakov’s rink and his balding condition then withheld the feeling that Yakov might be telling the truth. Stress can be a trigger for hair loss after all.

Victor’s face turns sad, “I think I’m starting to go bald too… Do you think I should cut my hair short?”

“No!” Yuuri reflexively exclaims, “Trust me, you’re not balding at all. Besides, cutting hair doesn’t actually help with the real cause of balding, so it is a useless move. Don’t cut it!”

Victor blinks.

“Ah…!” Yuuri snaps out if his vehement state, “So-Sorry! I’m just running my mouth there! Argh…”

A grin creeps onto Victor’s face, “So Yuuri likes me with long hair?”

“N- I mean, yes! Uh, you had long hair for the longest time it would be weird to see you with short hair?”

The grin widens, “I’ve been thinking about it, but Yuuri, could it be that you’re my longtime fan?”

Yuuri weakly groans as he covers his face with his hands, ‘I successfully dug my grave even deeper, thank you me, it is so embarrassing!’

“Do you want an autograph?” Victor says in a teasing tone.

“………!!!” Yuuri cries inside. Of course he wants it! It’s his  _dream_  for  _years_! But can he really say yes in this situation?!

“Oh, I know! Let’s take a selfie and print it out, then I’ll sign it!”

“Kill me…” Yuuri weakly moans. 

“Nooo~!!”

…

…

…

“Well that was fun!” Victor cheerily exclaims as they arrive at Yuuri’s hotel.

“Thank you for tonight,” Yuuri nods with a smile, and a light blush on his cheek that refuses to dissipate ever since he dug his own grave. It’s on his list of [most embarrassing moment in my life], but even he can’t deny that the rest of the dinner went very pleasant.

“Sure, now let’s pack~”

“… Pack?”

“Yep,” Victor beams, “I’ve booked a suite room in Four Seasons Hotel.”

Yuuri widens his eyes, Four Seasons is the most expensive hotel in St. Petersburg, and Victor did, “ _What_?!”

“You don’t like it? It is a classic choice, though.”

“Not that,  _why_  Victor?”

“I don’t see why you didn’t do that in the first place.”

Yuuri stares hard at Victor, “You… Won’t let this go will you?”

“Nope!”

Yuuri slowly inhales then exhales, “Fine. You people are  _weird,_  I swear.”

“Hmmm? Had something like this happened before?”

“ _Yesss_ , and I can’t understand  _why,_ ” Yuuri sighs exasperatedly.

“Oh, good to know~”

“So, how much is the total cost?”

“None~”

“ _Victor._ ”

“No~”

“… I’ll transfer the approximate cost to your account.”

“Do that and I’ll transfer back  _double_  the amount.”

Yuuri squints, “Why are you so stubborn?”

“I don’t know~ Why are  _you_  so stubborn?”

Yuuri lets out a snort, “Isn’t this supposed to be an era where people hoard and hide their money from each other?”

“Now that I think about it, I  _am_  paying you too low. Let me rectify that,” Victor states as he takes out his phone.

“Victor stop,” Yuuri says as he uses one hand to hold Victor’s arm while the other presses to his head, “Let me repeat that,  _you people are weird_.”

Victor smiles as he replies, “The sentiment is shared.” 

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 8 

0-0-0-0 

In the end, they re-negotiate their contract so that Yuuri can use the rest of the week to help Mila and Georgi.

Yuuri feels a sense of loss for not being able to interact as much as he could before with Victor.

Little did he know that he is not the only one feeling it.

Later on that day, Victor asks Yuuri for another dinner. A pleasant surprise, and Yuuri isn’t declining.

The driving part is still scary, though…

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 9

 0-0-0-0

Yuuri has another dinner with Victor, and he is positively jealous at the fact that Victor doesn’t need to keep an eye on his weight. 

* * *

0-0-0-0

 St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 10

0-0-0-0 

Mila and Georgi turns out to be nice people, if a bit quirky in their own way.

Georgi can randomly go off tangent and tells him stories about his relationship, and won’t stop until Yakov yells at him.

Mila likes to jokingly flirt with him, something which he is never good at handling, so he settles for a nervous laugh or a genial smile.

He is also not sure  _why_  Victor is progressively getting more and more touchy-feely, but he chalks it up as Victor warming up to him and being friendly. Actually… Most of his clients tend to do that, something which still confuses him. Maybe it is because of his lack of resistance? Or is it because he gets most of his jobs by referral and [ _birds_  of a  _feather_  flock together]? 

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Ice Rink

Day 13

0-0-0-0

“Have you asked about an extension?” Yakov comments beside Victor as they observe Yuuri helping Georgi.

“I did, but Yuuri’s schedule is packed full after this.”

Apparently, these 2 weeks are originally Yuuri’s planned vacation time. Victor considers himself lucky that Yuuri  _is_  his fan. Self-reminder to send a bouquet of red roses for Chris.

Yakov huffs, “Do book him longer for next season.”

“I plan to,” Victor confirms.

* * *

0-0-0-0

St. Petersburg – Airport

Day 14

0-0-0-0

“Must you leave already, Yuuri?” Victor says while clinging to Yuuri.

“I’m afraid so,” Yuuri pats Victor’s shoulder, “I’ll watch your ISU competition if you want me to.”

“Of course! I can get you tickets! Or do you prefer personnel passes?”

Yuuri smiles, “I don’t think Japan is going to appreciate me being on Russia’s personnel list.”

“Tickets it is~”

At this point, Yuuri knows that Victor simply likes paying for stuff, and can’t be deterred without a very concrete reason. He’s weird like that.

Eventually, Yuuri’s plane arrives.

“Do text and call me, okay?” Victor insists, “And upload more selfies, please!”

“Okay,” Yuuri easily agrees… for the first part of the request.

“And here,” Victor hands him an enclosed envelope, “Open this later!”

“Thank you,” Yuuri smiles, “See you later!”

“See you!”

* * *

0-0-0-0

Inside the airplane

0-0-0-0

Yuuri gasps as he finally gets to see the content.

It is printed photos of his selfies with Victor signed with a gold colored permanent marker.

‘Dorks!’ Yuuri is torn between laughing and crying.

He thinks back to Victor’s offers to hire him for next season, and yes,  _yes_  he is definitely going to take that offer.

* * *

0-0-0-0

One Month Later

June

0-0-0-0

Yuuri tends to keep in touch with his former clients, if only because they tend to be friendly people that like to re-hire him, so…

“No Chris, I’m not giving Victor  _special_  attention,” Yuuri denies as he facetimes with Chris.

“Heeee~” Chris has an annoying smile on his face, “You sure you don’t know why Victor looks happier these days?”

“No,” Yuuri exasperatedly replies, “Isn’t it just his personality?”

“Is it~?”

“Chris, you’re his  _friend,_  aren’t you? You should know that Victor is a rather cheery person.”

“Oh Yuuri, if only you know the amount of hearts you break~” Chris dramatically sighs.

“What heart,” Yuuri rolls his eyes.

The studio door slams open as his current client burst in with a loud, “Sorry I’m late!”

Apparently, Chris can hear that, “Ooops, that is my clue to leave you with your newest victim~” he blows a kiss and winks, “See you later~”

“Who is that?”

“Christophe Giacometti, figure skating World Championship and Winter Olympic silver winner.”

“Are you that friendly with all your former clients, Yuuri?”

Yuuri shifts, “Errr, no? Not really.”

His client sends him searching looks, and utters something in their native language.

“Is everything alright?” Yuuri asks.

“Everything is  _fine_. Yuuri, you’ll chat with me too after this right?”

“Sure, if you want to,” Yuuri smiles.

His current client lets out a long sigh.

* * *

0-0-0-0

July

0-0-0-0

“And Yakov blames me for that! Can you believe it?!” Victor retells what happened on the rink yesterday.

Yuuri chuckles, “Actually, I can.”

Victor sniffs, “You’re supposed to be on my side, Yuuri!”

“Vitya!!! Do your training!” Yakov’s voice yells out from the background.

“A minute!” Victor yells back then smiles at the camera, “Well, good night Yuuri! Dream of me okay?”

“Right. Of course,” Yuuri grins, “Good day to you and try to mind Yakov’s stress level.”

“Haha, sure Yuuri,” Victor grins back, “So, see you later.”

“See you.”

The connection is cut.

Yuuri drops his phone, smooshes his face against his pillow and groans. Victor said it as a joke, but Yuuri’s dream is, more often than not, filled with him. And not all of them are  _appropriate_.

‘What would Victor think if he knows?’ Yuuri thought as he pads to the bathroom.

Recently, he took the habit of staying in expensive hotels. Partly because Victor keeps complaining, and partly because it feels  _nice_. He is starting to get hopelessly spoiled, isn’t he…?

Yuuri sighs as he soaks in the bathtub.  

Life these days are too good for him, and he is afraid to think when it will end.

* * *

0-0-0-0

August

0-0-0-0

Four squeals resound in Hasetsu Ice Castle as Yuuri caves in those female skater otaku’s demand of bringing out the now framed selfie photo with Victor’s autograph.

“No,” Yuuri refuses as the triplets demand him to send other pictures.

“Eeee!”

“But why!?”

“Yuuri is stingy!”

 

“Client privacy policy,” Yuuri states.

 

“Not going to post it online!”

“We swear!”

“Yuuri, please!”

 

“No. You guys said the exact same thing last time, and I ended up apologizing to Chris.”

 

“But all the skater otaku loves it!”

“Chris doesn’t mind!”

“He re-tweeted it!”

 

They went back and forth for a while until Yuuri’s phone flashes with an incoming call from [Victor].

“Ah, excuse me,” Yuuri walks away to answer the phone… or so he plans to. The triplets and Yuuko hound him whether it is that  _Victor_.

“Fine! Fine! Just back up a bit!” Yuuri gives up and takes a few steps back when they relent and he accepts the facetime call.

“Good afternoon Yuuri!” on the screen is a half-naked Victor, looking like he could go on a photoshoot, when in fact, he just woke up and is still lying on his bed.

““KYAAAAA!!!”” screams resound as all of them here are skater otaku and could definitely recognize Victor from his voice alone.

““Let us see!!!””

“Stop! Stop! Wait a minute please!” Yuuri moves backward. He can’t let them see Victor like  _that_ , especially the triplets.

Victor blinks, “Did I catch you at a bad time, Yuuri?”

“No, no, no,” Yuuri denies, “I’m just with my childhood friend and her children and they’re huge figure skating fans.”

Victor's eyes brighten, he might not understand Japanese, but those type of screams are familiar enough when it comes from a fan, “Then, let me see them!”

“The children are seven!” Yuuri presses.

Victor has an [oh!] face then he takes a moment to find a shirt and adopts a more decent position, “Ok!”

Yuuri sacrifices his phone, and mentally prepares himself for the  _chaos_.

“Hello!” Victor brightly waves.

“Oh my God, it is really Victor!” Yuuko looks like she is about to cry.

The triplets start hounding Victor in broken English, and somehow they end up taking selfies with the phone.

Yuuri sighs as he watches the spectacle from the sidelines, until a while later, Victor asks “So Yuuko, you’re Yuuri’s childhood friend, right? What was he like as a child?“

“Victor!” Yuuri exclaims, but they purposely ignore him.

Yuuko brightens, “Yuuri was rather sh-”

“Yuuko, no!” Yuuri snatches back his phone, “And Victor, aren’t you supposed to get ready and head to the rink?”

“Eeeee fineeee,” Victor relents.

* * *

When Yuuri looks back at this a week from now, he should’ve known that Victor isn’t the type to give up that easily.

Yuuri really wants to dig a deep hole and throw himself in when he finds out that the girls talked about Yuuri with Victor through SNS behind his back, and then a minted poster of Victor with his autograph on the front arrives by mail. On the back is Victor’s handwriting saying, [Addition for your poster collection of me Yuuri!]

Yuuri refuses to go out of his room and answer anything for hours.

* * *

“I’m sorry Yuuri~” Victor apologize with a smile on his face.

Yuuri sulks, “At least be more sincere when you’re apologizing.”

“Then I’m not sorry~ Yuuri is too secretive about his past, I’m dying out of curiosity,” Victor dramatizes.

Yuuri sighs, “There is nothing interesting about my childhood.”

“I disagree,” Victor is still smiling but his words sounds serious.

Yuuri pauses, “You… How much did Yuuko told you?”

“Some fun stories and some important stories.”

Yuuri stares hard.

“That included the answer to why you didn’t become a figure skater yourself.”

Yuuri slowly exhales, “Good night Victor.”

“Wait!” Victor exclaims out before Yuuri can press [end call], “I want you to know that I’m grateful for everything that happened because it led you to me.”

Yuuri grips his phone, “…You’re so insensitive sometimes…”

“People often say that to me.”

“You weren't supposed to  _know_.”

“I’m grateful for knowing it since I feel like I know you better now.”

Yuuri closes his eyes, “Good night Victor. I’ll talk to you later.”

This time Victor doesn’t say anything and Yuuri ends the call.

“Stupid Victor,” Yuuri mutters as he can’t help but remember his past.

_That_  happened at his first figure skating competition. A low-key Juvenile National competition with barely anyone watching. But [barely anyone] was enough to make Yuuri a nervous wreck. At that time, he unluckily drew first and self-doubt clouded him so much, he failed all his jumps.

If you can’t get enough points in Short, you won’t even get a chance to show your Free. And that is what happened to Yuuri.

He messed up.

It was over for him.

Or so he felt at that time.

When he thinks about it with a clear view right now, it was not actually  _over_. Nerves and pressure have dragged and will drag more people into a bad situation. And he is sure that nobody was surprised when a first timer messes up.

But he just got so depressed over it that no amount of support and comfort food could drag him out. It is arguably the worst week of his life before he arbitrarily calls it quits.

He quits.

But he can’t  _let it go_.

Minako-sensei, bless her heart, gives him a way out.

If he can’t  _let go_ , then he could find a way to not let it go without having to compete.

A choreographer.

A job where he can  _move_  without the pressure of competing.

A job where he can still show the world his art without having to do it himself.

It is not a fix, at best, it is a compromise, but Yuuri gradually likes it more and more with every dancer and skater he meets. He might not be the one bathed in light, but it is a joy and pride in itself when the people he choreographed for succeeds.

It is a compromise, but right now Yuuri feels like there is real worth in doing it.

_It led you to me_ … right? Somehow, somehow this led him to  _Victor Nikiforov_.

Yuuri wraps himself with his blanket.

He can’t help but feel regret and wished he could’ve made a different choice back then. But right now, if only a little, he can feel grateful on how  _good_  everything turned out to be and where it led him.

* * *

The next morning, Yuuri wakes up and is immediately ushered by the first family member he sees, his mom, to their dining table.

Yuuri gasps. There at the table, stands a vase filled with fresh blue roses and in front of the vase is an extra-large bowl of katsudon with a tea cup and pot neatly arranged beside it.

“I don’t really understand, but Yuuko-chan arranged this yesterday night and the flower arrived a few hours ago.”

Yuuri lets out breathless laugh, “I think I understand what happened. Thank you, mom.”

He sits down while admiring the roses.

‘Dorks,’ Yuuri remarks as he picks up the chopstick, “Itadakimasu.”

…

…

…

Later he sends a picture of his empty bowl with a text saying, [It is delicious].

* * *

0-0-0-0

September

0-0-0-0

Yuuri wakes up to see hundreds of notification on his phone.

“… What happened…?” he yawns while tapping the notification, “...tagged you in a post… tagged you in a photo…” he scrolls to see a bunch of different people tagging him, “Huh?”

For some unknown reason, his former clients are posting various selfies of them with him with the hashtag [ **IHaveOneToo** ].

“???” Yuuri wonders if he is still dreaming, then he reads [@v-nikiforov] at the bottom of the notification.

He opens a bookmarked page [Current Time Zone in St. Petersburg – Russia], then presses call on [Victor].  

“Good afternoon Yuuri! Oh wait, you’re still in bed? Good morning to you then~!” Victor cheerily answers.

“Victor, explain this please.”

…

…

…

“Let me get this straight. You posted an old selfie of us, and another former client of mine posted their own selfie while saying [@v-nikiforov, I have a selfie with @Yuuri-Katsuki too!!!], then you posted another one, they post  _another_  one too, and then Chris, Mila, Georgi and around 10 other people joined in, and suddenly it became a full blown [ **#IHaveOneToo** ] war with almost 100 people?”

“That’s right! I had to drop out in the middle because of Yakov,” Victor pouts, “But I got to see so many different pictures of you, so it is still a win~”

Yuuri stares blankly at his phone, “Right. Good afternoon. Have a good day. I’m going back to sleep,” he ends the call and turns off his phone. It is too early to try to figure out what goes inside their heads.

* * *

“So which one do you like best Yuuri?” one of the dance group members throws him that question once he steps into their dance studio.

“What?”

“The selfies from the [war], which one do you like the most?”

“Ah, I don’t actually follow it,” Yuuri confesses.

“You look awfully happy in the one with Victor, he even has dinner pictures with you,” another member chirps in, “Do you  _like_  him?”

“!! Uh, Victor is a very likeable person.”

“No! None of that diplomatic answer! Do you  _like_  him?  _Are you dating him_?”

Yuuri’s mind is reeling.

The member gasps, “You aren’t denying it!  _Noo_ -”

The other member quickly covers their mouth and with a polite, “Sorry, give us a moment please,” drags both of them out of the studio.

…

…

…

The rest of the practice went easy enough with none of them bringing back that topic, but Yuuri can’t let it out of his head.

The answer to that is a [no], but he can’t say it, he doesn’t want to say it. Until Victor himself denies it or lost interest in him, he isn’t going to say [no].

The thing about a good dream is that you’ll end up disappointed when you wake up to find out that it is not  _real_. He accepts that. That one day this good dream will end. But until then, he’ll let himself enjoy this real-life-good-dream they call delusion.

* * *

0-0-0-0 

October

Pearson International Airport

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

0-0-0-0

“Yuuri, I miss you!!!” Victor exclaims as he hugs Yuuri tightly when Yuuri arrives.

“I miss you too!” Yuuri hugs back.

After a while, Victor lets go and smiles brightly, “So what are you planning to do?”

“Well firstly,” Yuuri summons all of his courage to hold Victor’s hand and pull him towards the taxi area, “Let’s get out of here before the crowd mobs you.”

“Okay~” Victor easily agrees. There is a trail of people following them, and he doesn’t feel like wasting his time with Yuuri to entertain them.

* * *

0-0-0-0

Restaurant

Private Dining Room

0-0-0-0

“I’m not your coach but… Is this really alright?” Yuuri eyed the selection of food Victor chose for dinner.

“Of course~!”

Yuuri mock sighs, “6 time World Champion is a person who doesn’t get fat, doesn’t have food allergy, and is okay with drinking before his SP.”

“I’m a catch, aren’t I?”

“Sure you are,” Yuuri’s tone is joking, but he knows it is true.

Victor smiles his heart-shaped smile and picks up his cutlery, “Let’s eat then! Bon appétit! Mmm~ Délicieux!” 

‘Really, this person is so  _extra_  sometimes,’ Yuuri grins, “What happened to вкусно(vkusno)?” 

“We’re in Canada after all~” Victor grins back. 

“Well, as long as you don’t suddenly shout J.J. Style.” 

Victor blinks uncomprehendingly. 

“… The one that took bronze on Euro last year …” 

“Oh, him. Of course not, Yuuri!”

Yuuri places his head on his hand, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. But, if I’m a skater, you probably wouldn’t notice me at all, would you?” 

“Of course not, Yuuri! Even if you end up as a model, librarian, teacher or even a barista, I would still notice you,” Victor insists. 

“Where did you get that confidence from?” 

“Because you’re you! And you’re amazing, Yuuri!” 

“!” Yuuri coughs, “Don’t suddenly throw flatteries like that!” 

“It’s not flatteries, it’s the truth.” 

“Right,” Yuuri scoffs. 

“I’m hurt Yuuri,” Victor says in a serious tone as he takes Yuuri’s left hand and kisses the back of his fingers, “You don’t believe me.” 

Yuuri snatches back his hand with confused wide eyes, and a blush on his cheeks, “Don’t do that…” 

“You don’t like it?” 

Yuuri grimaces, “It’s not that…” 

“Then what Yuuri?” Victor moves from his seat, and bows himself a bit so he could look at Yuuri on eye level from beside him.  

Yuuri’s brain stops working as his eyes stare at the intense blue on Victor’s eyes. 

“What is it?” Victor repeats. 

“If… if you keep doing that, I’ll really misunderstand you know…” Yuuri says with sadness in his eyes. 

“About?” 

“…” Yuuri averts his eyes. He can’t say. He is not ready for this dream to end. 

“Let me guess. That I love you? That I want you?” Victor says in low voice. 

Yuuri’s hands clench as he tries to stop his tears from falling. His blood freezes when he hears Victor sigh, then he feels a light touch on his lips. He moves his gaze forward to see Victor kissing him. And his tears fall. 

Victor kisses him harder as if he could stop Yuuri’s tears by doing that. It doesn’t work, but Yuuri can’t help his hands from circling Victor and fisting the back of his dress shirt.  

Yuuri feels like a drowning person admiring the glitters of water and air bubbles. This won’t end well, but just for a little bit more, please let him enjoy this. Please don’t wake me up because I  _like_  this dream.  

… 

Only that it doesn’t  _end_. 

“Marry me?” 

“What… are you talking about…?” 

“Is it too fast? Then be my fiancé?” 

“I don’t understand…” Yuuri breaths out. 

“I don’t feel safe, you know? With you being so far away for months, charming people left and right. I don’t know what I would do if one of them manages to take you away from me.” 

“I really don’t understand…” 

Victor kisses him again.  

“I love you.” 

And again. 

“I want you.” 

And  _again_.

“Want me,  _please,_ ” Yuuri picks up desperation in Victor’s voice and eyes.

“I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want you,” Yuuri weakly says.

“Just you. Just you. I only need  _you_  to want me. Please Yuuri, say  _yes_.”

“I…” Yuuri’s heart breaks into pieces at Victor’s pleading face and he whispers, “ _Yes…_ ”

Victor’s face brightens, “Say that again.”

“Yes, yes I want you! I have wanted you since a long time ago, you insensitive jerk!” Yuuri lets out his pent up feelings, “But I can’t have yo-”

Victor cuts him off with another kiss.

“Oh Yuuri, you already  _have_  me.”

Yuuri stares disbelievingly at Victor.

“Tell me Yuuri, what should I do to make you believe me? Win another gold? Break the world record? Let’s do that, okay? When I do both at the Finals, let’s get engaged, okay Yuuri?”

“You… Really want me?”

“More than anything I ever wanted,” Victor moves to pick Yuuri up and made him sit on his lap, then he hugs Yuuri while letting his head rest on Yuuri’s shoulder.

Yuuri lets out a shuddering breath while he takes in a moment to gather himself.

Minutes passed in comfortable silence as Yuuri let himself feel the warmth of Victor’s body and the weight of his reassurances.

“Okay…” Yuuri finally says, “Okay let’s do that…”

Victor tightens his hugs.

“But if you ever find someone better,” Yuuri quickly places a hand over Victor’s mouth to stop him from cutting him off, “Let me finish. If you ever find someone better, don’t let them go just because of me. I want to be happy.”

Victor uses his hand to gently remove Yuuri’s hand and kiss its back again, “I  _accept_  that for now. But Yuuri, mark my words, one day I’ll make you  _see_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying something new for me, Yuuri with cannon personality and insecurities. 
> 
> This turns out _alright_... I think?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continues an hour or so after the last chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is beta-ed by [Empress_Arisu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empress_Arisu/pseuds/Empress_Arisu) too, bless you!
> 
> Warning: This fic’s rating is upgraded from T to M
> 
> ~~whoever it is above, forgive me for I have sinned~~
> 
> Underlined words are spoken in the speaker’s native language unless stated otherwise

Having said that, Yuuri is the type that hates to lose. He’ll  _let go_  if he should let go but,  _now that he knows Victor is genuinely interested in him, and not just his wishful imagination_ , he’ll  _work_  to keep Victor’s interest.

“Good night Yuuri,” Victor says as they arrive in front of Yuuri’s hotel room.

Yuuri keeps a straight face on as he opens his door.

Victor is confused at the lack of response, “Yuuri?”

Yuuri faces Victor, and in one quick move, places one hand on Victor’s nape, pulls him down to his eye level, and lazily smiles with hooded eyes, “Good night, Victor.”

Victor’s eyes widen and Yuuri releases him, gets in his room, and shuts the door.

‘… Did he just…?’ Victor stares at the door.

On the other side, Yuuri throws himself to his bed and tightly grips his pillow to control his emotion, ‘Calm down, calm down, you’re doing fine, it’s just basic seduction, a whole level lower than what you choreograph for Chris.’

He groans.

Performance seduction is when both ends know that it is just an act/art, and not something  _real_ , not something that could jeopardize  _real life relationship_.

10 minutes later, his phone receives a text.

Yuuri opens it, and his thought process  _crashes_ , “!!!”

Victor sent a picture of him with  _the exact same look_  Yuuri sent him a while ago, lying on his bed with damp hair and water droplets trailing down his unfairly beautiful face and perfectly toned body.

Yuuri dazedly stares at his screen.

Moments later, Yuuri’s notification count suddenly rises in scary speed.

 

 **Victor Nikiforov** @v-nikiforov

_5 minutes ago_

My to-do list for the rest of the year ;)

[  ] Break SP points world record

[  ] Break FS points world record

[  ] Break total points world record

[  ] Win GPF gold

[  ] Get engaged to Yuuri Katsuki @Yuuri-Katsuki ♥

 

Yuuri lets out a helpless small smile and lets himself believe that, even for now only, he is fine.

Victor is the type of person who won’t even remember you if he has no interests in you. He is also someone who’ll do whatever he wants to do. If Yuuri can’t believe in himself, he can still believe that Victor isn’t the type to lie to his own feelings and that he is sincere when he says he wants Yuuri.  

* * *

0-0-0-0

3 days later

0-0-0-0 

 **Victor Nikiforov** @v-nikiforov

_1 hour ago_

3 down, 2 to go! Can’t wait! ♥

[v] Break SP points world record

[v] Break FS points world record

[v] Break total points world record

[  ] Win GPF gold

[  ] Get engaged to Yuuri Katsuki @Yuuri-Katsuki ♥

* * *

0-0-0-0

Victor’s hotel room

0-0-0-0

Yuuri presses his thumb to the sole of Victor’s foot and drags.

Victor moans as he says in a low tone, “You’re so good at this, Yuuri.”

Yuuri presses harder, “I know you’re doing it on purpose.”

“Mmm, is it working?” Victor shamelessly replies as he looks downward to watch Yuuri massaging his feet.

“What do you think?” Yuuri pauses and glances upward to stare at Victor’s eyes for a moment, then resumes his action.

Victor places his fingers below Yuuri’s chin and tilts his head up, their eyes meet again and Victor asks with a soft smile, “Where have you been all my life?”

Yuuri smiles back, “Mostly in Japan, staring intently at the screen to admire a certain figure skater.”

“Who is that lucky person?”

“Who do you think?”

They grin.

“Come on Victor, I’ll never finish at his rate.”

“I don’t mind if that means keeping you with me forever.”

“Very smooth,” Yuuri helplessly huffs.

Victor lets him while letting his mind wander. For the first time in years, gold doesn’t feel like an empty victory. If he gets a massage or other forms of  _reward_ from Yuuri every time he wins gold, then he wishes he could continue winning forever.

 

“Yuuri, stay?” Victor pleads.

Yuuri stands up, “I have to go back to my room.”

Victor looks dejected.

“A suit is not comfortable to sleep in, plus I need to remove my contact lenses,” Yuuri smiles, “I’ll be back.”

Victor brightens.

* * *

Yuuri’s heart is beating fast as he lies on the bed with Victor’s arm around his waist, the heat of Victor’s body is transferred to his back and travels through his whole body.

“It’s so hard to sleep,” Yuuri complains as he takes Victor’s hand and moves it upward to let him feel his heartbeat.

Victor spoons him closer, “Hmmm, same.”

Yuuri contently sighs.

* * *

Victor wakes up to disorientating warmth around him.

“Oh, I see,” Victor mutters as he gently kisses the man in front of him. Slowly, he detaches himself to look at the digital clock. With the hotel’s drape perfectly blocking any outside light, the red glow of the clock stands out against the darkness.

[ 11:42 AM ]

They missed the breakfast buffet. That’s fine, he can order room service.

 

Yuuri wakes up after bright light follows a firm knocking, and door opening sound.

“What…?” he squints as the door closes and the room plunges back into darkness.

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?” a very familiar voice sounds.

“… Victor…?”

“Yes? I’m turning on the light.”

Yuuri blinks to adjust to the bright light, and looks toward the smiling man.

“…You’re really here…” Yuuri absentmindedly lets out.

“Hm?”

“Ah, no, room service?” Yuuri glances towards the food on the wheeled tray and then the clock, “Huh, we missed the buffet.”

“Yep~” Victor agrees in a light tone as he picks up a food tray and places it on the bed, “And now we have breakfast in bed instead~”

“Sor- Um, Thank you” Yuuri says as he adopts a more proper sitting position, and brings the tray to his lap while Victor sits beside him with his own tray.

Victor smiles, “You’re welcome!”

* * *

0-0-0-0

November 28

Yu-topia Katsuki

0-0-0-0

“Ah it feels so nice,” Victor exclaims as he dips into the hot spring.

His second leading GP was located in Sapporo, Japan, from 25 to 27, and afterwards, he ditched Yakov and followed Yuuri back to Hasetsu.

“Nothing beats hot springs after practice,” Yuuri lets out an agreeing sigh from beside him.

GPF starts at December 8, and luckily for him, the Ice Castle is available for private reservation, or else Yakov himself would’ve come and drag him back forcefully.

Tomorrow is Yuuri’s birthday. As a Russian, he doesn’t celebrate birthdays, but he is using this opportunity to introduce himself to Yuuri’s important people. Yuuri’s parents turn out to be really nice people. His sister, Mari, is a bit more serious as she gave him the shovel talk. He gets that a lot recently from Yuuri’s former clients(fans).

After that, they head to the Ice Castle, and he finally meets Yuuko and her children in person. They’re very excitable.

The highlight of his day is Yuuri skating. Before, Yuuri shows him choreographies on the dance floor, but this time, Victor gets to see Yuuri performing his short on ice. He changes all the jumps to singles and doubles, but the sheer beauty of it is enough to make him feel like crying.

Had Yuuri continued years back then, he is sure that Yuuri could be a better skater than him.

Obligatory practice time and one [see-I’m-practicing-properly!] recording sent to Yakov later, they head back to the inn and Victor gets to try the hot springs for the first time. It feels like a really huge bathtub with a great view of the stars and gentle leaf scented hot water. Huge bonus points for Japan’s culture that allows him to have an almost naked Yuuri beside him.

“I don’t want to leave~” he complains as he clings to Yuuri, “I should make this place my home rink. Yuuri could be my coach!”

“I don’t think I have the qualification to coach figure skaters,” Yuuri humors him by replying.

“Then, Yuuri could be my choreographer, and I’ll coach myself!” Victor paused. That is actually a really good idea.

“Don’t. Yakov will tear you a new one.”

He sighs, if he can’t stay here, then how about bringing back the best thing here with him?

“Then Yuuri, live with me?”

 

“Then Yuuri, live with me?” Yuuri turns his head to look toward Victor.

Victor has an easy smile on his face like he didn’t just drop a bomb. No, wait, considering his personality, it’s probably not even close to a [bomb] for him. Yuuri is 80% sure that had he said [yes] to their previous conversation, Victor would really make this place his home rink.

Yuuri closes his eyes.

The reason why he travels so much is because he gives lessons on top of choreographies. If he is going to stay with Victor, really  _stay_  and not like his current 2 weeks home every 2-3 months, he has to stop giving lessons or limit them to nearby areas only. 

It’s going to cut a portion of his income. But aside from necessities to appear presentable in front of his clients, Yuuri doesn’t live extravagantly, so most of his incomes go to deposit and annuity.

Huh…

So the only thing stopping him from living his dream is his own fear of the unknown…  What does the self-help book say about that… [ _Don't let your fears_   _stand in the_ way of your happiness _]?_

Yuuri inhales deeply, “Right now is not possible. I still have previously made job contract. Ask me again after Euro?”

A happy kiss is his answer.

* * *

0-0-0-0

November 29

Yu-topia Katsuki

0-0-0-0

Yuuri’s birthday celebrations are low-key private affairs, just the way he likes it.

It’s just his family, Yuuko and her family, and Minako-sensei gathering for dinner. This year Victor joins in, and someone ends up in a drinking contest with Minako-sensei.

Yuuri has to place a firm break when Victor throws his shirt. Yuuko passes out in her puddle of blood while Nishigori is torn between helping his wife, and stopping his triplets from taking ungodly amount of photos.

“You’re so beautiful. Yuuri” Victor starts speaking in Russian as Yuuri hauls him to their room.

“My life was a fading grey existence until you came, and then the world regains its colors”

“Victor, I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand too. Why can’t you  _see,_  Yuuri?”

Yuuri manhandled him to lie on the bed, “Either speak English or go to sleep, Victor.”

Victor suddenly reaches out, drags Yuuri down, and pins him to the bed, “I won’t let you go.”

Yuuri is shocked with the combination of the words, and the sharp stare Victor sends him, ‘Is he really drunk?’

Then Victor kisses him deeply.

Yuuri stops thinking when Victor’s tongue touches his, and he lost himself in the taste of  _Victor,_  sweetened with remains of alcohol.

They part, and Yuuri drags his fingers on Victor’s back, when Victor makes a hickey high on his shoulder.

“I won’t let you go,” Victor repeats then he licks the mark and makes another one just beside it.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Yuuri breathlessly replies.        

* * *

0-0-0-0

November 30

Saga Airport

Saga, Japan

0-0-0-0

“Victor, you’re going to miss your plane,” Yuuri reminds as Victor refuses to let him go, even though his plane has arrived.

“Let it be, I can reschedule the flight,” Victor petulantly replies.

“I’ll be seeing you next week,” Yuuri persuades.

“1 week away from you is too long Yuuri~”

Yuuri inwardly lets out a heavy sigh. [Desperate time calls for desperate measure], he is not desperate  _yet_ , but the amount of people (not so) discreetly crowding and looking at them is making him uncomfortable, and the clock is ticking, ‘No choice.’

“Neeee Vikutoruuuuu~” Yuuri lazily moans out to Victor’s ear in Japanese, and when Victor freezes in surprise, he quickly detaches himself and continues in a normal voice, “You’re going to miss your plane.”

Victor rapidly blinks several times then complains, “You’re not playing fair, Yuuri.”

“I have enough hate messages already. I don’t need more for ‘ _making our hero miss his flight._ ’”

Victor lightly frowns, “Just ignore those.”

“I do, but it is still clogging my notification.”

Victor melodramatically sighs, “Alright, fine, but give me one kiss before I go?”

“Alright,” Yuuri gives a little nod.

[One kiss] turns out to be one dirty and long kiss. Someone lets out a muffled squeal, and several clicks of camera sounds. Victor’s wraps one arm around Yuuri’s higher back to prevent him from backing off, while his other hand is dangerously low.

Yuuri is flushed red and gasping for air when they part, and Victor lightly bites his earlobe, and says in low and sexy voice, “Next time you do that, there will be  _punishment_  okay~?”

Yuuri doesn’t understand the meaning, but the  _definitely-not-innocent_  intent is delivered loud and clear.

“See you Yuuri!” Victor lets him go, and cheerily delivers.

Yuuri holds himself together, and affectionately replies, “Shoo! I’ll see you next week you insufferable being!”

“But you love me~!”

“Yes,” Yuuri grins, “The insanity of it all.”

Once Victor is out of sight, Yuuri covers his face. He should’ve known already that Victor  _retaliates_  every time he does  _that_ … But it gets the job done so he considers it as a pyrrhic victory.

* * *

0-0-0-0

December

Grand Prix Final

Marseille, France

0-0-0-0 

“Hi Victor~ You’re wearing a serious look, how rare~” Chris greets as he drapes his arms on Victor’s shoulder, “Could it be that you’re nervous?”

“Chris!” Victor shifts his eyes from the current performer, “I’m rethinking about the dinner menu,” he sighs.

“Heee~ Which restaurant?”

They dissolve into a discussion of wine vs champagne.

“Tch!” Yuri scowls as he overhears the conversation, “Shut it, you arrogant fossils. I’ll beat you all.”

Victor simply smiles while Chris blows a kiss.

“Gah!” Yuri stalks away before he explodes on both of them. His turn is next, and he has to keep his anger level in check, lest he fails again in all these [feel and express your piece] bullshit.

Victor watches Yuri’s retreating form while remembers something, “Ah that’s right. Why did you recommend Yuuri to me, Chris? The real reason, if you will?”

“The real reason?”

“Yep~!”

Chris raises his shoulders a bit, “A competition without you would be boring.”

Victor silently stares at Chris.

“Romanée-Conti will do,” Chris offers with a lazy smile, “And invite me as your best man.”

Victor offers a small smile, “I’ll add Château Pétrus to that.”

* * *

0-0-0-0

December

1 Day after GPF

Marseille, France

0-0-0-0

Victor posts an image of his hand holding Yuuri’s with their gold ring glinting under the light.

 

 **Victor Nikiforov** @v-nikiforov

_1 minute ago_

♥(ɔ ˘⌣˘)˘⌣˘ c) ♥

[v] Break SP points world record

[v] Break FS points world record

[v] Break total points world record

[v] Win GPF gold

[v] Get engaged to Yuuri Katsuki @Yuuri-Katsuki ♥

* * *

0-0-0-0

January

Ostrava, Czech Republic

0-0-0-0

Victor finds it really charming when Yuuri watches the Orchestra perform with sparkly eyes. It is the day after Euro, and since they’re  _here_ , they decided to pay a visit to one of the theaters.

                                                                                                                                      

“That was wonderful!” Yuuri happily exclaims as they head to their next date destination.

“I agree~”

“The female cellist in the middle is especially talented.”

“She is~”

Yuuri sends Victor an exasperated look, “… Victor, you really weren’t paying attention, were you? The cellist is male.”

Victor places his hand on his chest in a mock hurt expression, “But I am paying close attention!”

“Just not to the orchestra,” Yuuri remarks with a helpless smile.

“Nope~” Victor shamelessly confesses, “The  _view_  beside me is much more amazing than the orchestra~”

“Hmmm, then, what would you do if I’m all wrinkly and graying?”

“Oh Yuuri,” Victor gently trails his finger down on the side of Yuuri’s face, “There is a whole lot more to you than just your looks. Your look catches my eyes, but it is  _you_  that I love. The way you laugh, the way you care, the way you tease, and every little thing you do that makes you  _beautiful_.”

Yuuri squeezes Victor’s hand as he held back the tears from forming, “You’re hopeless.”

“I am. Completely, absolutely and sincerely hopeless for you.”

Yuuri lets out a smile with adoration in his eyes, “I’m too lucky, it’s so hard to believe sometimes.”

“The sentiment is shared,” Victor whispers against his lips.

 

“Live with me?”

“Yes.”

* * *

0-0-0-0

February

St. Petersburg, Russia

0-0-0-0

“Makkachin! This is Yuuri!” Victor happily introduces.

Makkachin barks and happily nuzzles Yuuri to get his scent.

Yuuri let it and strokes its fur, “Hello Makkachin.”

“Awww he likes you~!”

Makkachin wags his tail and Yuuri smiles, “I like you too Makkachin!”

Moving to Russia is daunting, but Victor will be here and Makkachin is a nice and affectionate dog.

‘Makkachin reminds me of Vicchan,’ Yuuri wistfully thought as he musses his face to Makkachin’s fur.

Yuuri exhales. He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.

* * *

Victor is playing guarantor/mediator/translator for Yuuri as he rents out a floor on one of the building nearby the Russian team’s ice rink to be converted into a dance studio.

Yuuri is learning Russian, but he is not confident enough to use it in a business situation. Victor is just happy he gets more time to be with Yuuri, no matter what Yakov yells about skipping practice when Worlds is just a month away.

“Thank you for accompanying me,” Yuuri says in slightly choppy Russian while swallowing his ingrained urge to apologize.

“You’re welcome~” Victor brightly replies as he purposely talks slower than usual, “The cafe on the corner make good syrniki, shall we go?”  

* * *

Yuuri pays it back by freely helping the Russian team at days he doesn’t spend learning how to live in Russia, or contacting and explaining to his clients about his new working policies.

“I appreciate your help,” Yakov gruffly says to Yuuri, “But can you do something about Vitya coming late to practice?”

Yuuri coughs, “I’ll try?”

* * *

“Victor,” Yuuri moans, “You’ll be late again at this rate.”

“Breakfast isn’t ready yet,” Victor languidly moves as he savors the moment.

 Yuuri shakily takes a deep breath, “Breakfast? Victor,  _please._ ”

Victor hums and slowly drags his tongue from Yuuri’s chest to his throat.

Yuuri groans and made up his mind. In one quick move, he pins Victor to the bed, “ _Too slow_. Let me  _cook_.”

* * *

0-0-0-0

March

0-0-0-0

“Ok good. I think that’s it for today. Do you already have a place in mind for dinner?” Yuuri politely offers.

“I think I’ll just grab whatever’s available on the hotel.”

“Oh, I’ll accompany you back?”

His client gives a wry smile, “Do you offer that to everyone?”

“Those not from Russia at least, this place can be rather confusing,” Yuuri remembers himself getting lost several times when he just got here.

“I think I’ll manage… Though if this is not too much, can I meet Nikiforov?”

“Victor? Sure, let me inform him first. I didn’t know you’re a fan of him.”              

“I’m not.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s nothing.”

 

 

“…”

“…”

Yuuri doubtfully watches the  _interaction_  of his client and Victor... As much as you can call two people politely staring at each other with a polite smile on their face [interaction] that is…

“I’ll… go to the bathroom for a bit,” Yuuri  ~~escapes~~  gives them some alone time.

Once Yuuri is out of sight, Yuuri’s client’s stare morphs into a glare while Victor maintains his smile.

“I don’t approve of you.”

“As [Yuuri’s fiancé], I would like to be on good terms with [Yuuri’s client].”

“…”

“…”

 

 

Yuuri returns to see Victor seated alone.

“Ah Yuuri, let’s go home~” Victor wraps his hand around his waist.

“Where are they?” Yuuri tilts his head.

“Already gone back.”

Yuuri looks like he really wants to ask, but refrains.

“We shared some pictures” Victor offers while leaving out [of you], “And that’s it.”

“I see,” Yuuri mutters, then he pulls down Victor and kisses him.

Victor smiles into the kiss. Yuuri never prevents nor complains about him entertaining his fans since he said, [it is a part of the job], but he does get more possessive afterward, it is really endearing.

* * *

0-0-0-0

April

0-0-0-0

“Yuuri, compose my Free?” Victor says as he pulls Yuuri closer after he spins him.

“Why?” Yuuri stares directly into Victor’s eyes, then wraps one leg around Victor’s.

Victor smiles then he leans forward to dip Yuuri, “I want to.”

They spend the rest of the tango in silence as Yuuri mulls over it. A professionally choreographed routine is pricey, but money is something Victor has in surplus, if he [wants to], he can hire any choreographer he wants, but he never does that… until now, until  _me_ …

“If you’re sure,” Yuuri confirms.

Victor gives Yuuri a quick peck on his lips, “Absolutely.”

“Alright,” Yuuri agrees, “What theme?”

“Whatever you want it to be.”

Yuuri tilts his head.

“Yuuri, what theme do you wish to see me skate?” Victor says with a smile but his eyes hold an intense, clear blue shade.

‘What do  _I_  wish to see…?’ Yuuri thought, then mentally shakes his head. He can’t be that selfish, ‘As a  _fan_ , what do  _we_  wish to see,’ Yuuri changes his wording, and re-thinks. An answer pops into his mind, and he quickly averts his eyes with a light blush.

“Oh, you just thought of something,” Victor sharply caught on, then he shifts closer, “What is it Yuuri?”

“It’s nothing,” Yuuri denies, then he tries to think from another angle, ‘Be professional! What theme would be supri-’ his thought process is cut short as Victor trails his hand downward, from the top of his spine to an intimate area, then shift sideways to squeeze his butt.

“What were you thinking, Yuuri? Tell me?”

“It’s not  _appropriate_! ” Yuuri weakly protests as he makes a move to remove Victor's hand, but is lacking in strength since his heart isn’t into the action.

Victor place his free hand to Yuuri’s chin, and forces Yuuri to look at him, “ _Tell me?_ ”

Yuuri sharply inhales and blurts it out.

* * *

The part of Yuri Plisetsky who used to idolize Victor is rolling in its grave.

“Disgusting,” Yuri glowers, “Die! You and  _him_! Die! ”

The indulgent look Victor sends him is annoying as hell. He is serious dammit!

“Your PDA is disgusting enough, what the hell compels you to include  _that_  into your Free too?!”

Victor simply smiles wider.

“Gah!” Yuri skates away while fuming.

 

Victor happily reminiscence that day. Yuuri is too cute when he says he wants Victor to show the world that Victor belongs to him.

From a professional point of view, it is not a bad idea.

[World famous bachelor skates about his love for his choreographer] is definitely a more interesting story than [7 times straight gold winner wins gold again].

From a personal point of view, it is splendid.

He had gone too long without life and love, now that he has both  _and_  can skate about it, is an amazing feeling.

For once in years, a program is more than just points and surprise factor. Practicing a routine has never felt this wonderful, it’s like he is draped in warmth, and he is happy even when his feet bruises and his knees aches.

Bonus points for Yuuri spending hours with him to refine it. Double the bonus for the massage Yuuri gives. Quadruple it for the fact that if he teases Yuuri  _just right,_  with the routine’s implication, Yuuri will shelf his embarrassment and go straight to  _retaliation_. вкусно(vkusno)! 

The fact that his short is inspired by Yuuri’s  _retaliation_  is his secret (backup) teasing ammunition~

* * *

“ただいま (I’m back)” Yuuri greets as he enters their apartment.

“おかえり~(Welcome back~)” Victor greets back as he places the chilled glass onto the table, “Just in time!”

“What brought this on?” Yuuri blinks as he surveys the feast on the table, and is that Dom Pérignon?

“Yuuri! You don’t remember?” Victor wipes (nonexistent) tears from his eyes, “It is the one year anniversary of our first meeting, Yuuri!”

“Really, Victor?” Yuuri helplessly smiles.

“I know you say that you don’t drink, but it is okay for anniversary day right?” Victor reasons.

“Well, it can’t be helped. You bought  _very nice_  champagne too,” Yuuri resigns himself with a smile, “Let me take a quick bath first.”

 

‘Oh my!’ Victor inwardly exclaims as his eyes sparkles. Yuuri told him he doesn’t drink because he inherits his father’s [go wild then forget] tendency, but how much  _worse_  can it be compared to Victor?

Turns out, it is not at all, not even close to the word [worse]. Drunk Yuuri is Yuuri when he stops  _overthinking,_  and just  _does it_. Drunk Yuuri is  _fun_. This night would definitely end up very high on Victor’s [best night] list.

Victor laughs when they lie on the floor after a marathon of tango, salsa, and flamenco.

“完全ではありません,” Yuuri suddenly says, “It’s not complete.”

“What is?” Victor watches as Yuuri sits up.

“The greeting you gave,” Yuuri looks at him with a flushed face.

“Hmmm~ Then what is the complete greeting?” Victor says in a low tone.

“おかえりなさいあなた (welcome back darling)

ごはんを食べる? (do you want to eat rice?)

お風呂 に する? (do you want to take a bath?)

それとも… (or…)” Yuuri’s face is just inches above him now, “わ.た.し? (me?)”

Victor drags him  _down_.

* * *

0-0-0-0

2 Days later

0-0-0-0

Yuuri drops his bag when he comes home to see Victor in a naked apron, “Victor, what…?”

“Something you taught me when you’re drunk Yuuri!” Victor gleefully exclaims with a heart-shaped smile.

“What…?” Yuuri’s mind blanked out, ‘What did I do when I was drunk?!’

“Certainly it was…” Victor proceeds to repeat what Yuuri said two days ago.

Yuuri’s face is filled with a combination of embarrassment, horror and disbelief.

* * *

0-0-0-0

May

0-0-0-0

It is one of those days where both of them are too tired to do anything more than ordering dinner delivery, and cuddles.

“Want to talk?” Yuuri offers as he absentmindedly caresses Victor’s hair. Victor also has his moments when all his cheerfulness evaporates, and his face is blank as his mind is quietly thinking.

Sometimes Yuuri gets to hear about it, while other times Victor just wants to hug Yuuri, and let his head rest on Yuuri’s shoulder while Makkachin drapes itself on their lap.

Victor lightly shakes his head and Yuuri shifts a bit so that Victor can lean on him more comfortably.

* * *

“It is  _his_  idea right?” Yakov accuses as Yuuri asks for his permission to use the rink together with Victor after his practice time.

Yuuri gives an apologetic smile, “Yes. He said [it will be fun!]. Don’t worry, we aren’t doing anything strenuous, at most it is a simple lift.”

“Fine,” Yakov grudgingly says as he knows that once Vitya sets his mind into something, he won’t stop even if Yakov denies it.

“Thank you,” Yuuri smiles.

 

Yuri feels like throwing something as he watches the idiot duo practicing pair skating.

“Che!” he throws himself into practice. He’ll be damned if he can’t even get a close score to an old man who randomly decides that he wants to learn a new and completely useless pair skating routine with his  _fiancée,_  instead of putting more effort in practicing his own routine.

 ~~The result is beautiful~~ , a useless routine is useless dammit!

* * *

0-0-0-0

June

0-0-0-0

“Alright, open your eyes~” Victor says after he finishes applying eye shadow to Yuuri, “So what do you think?”

“Amazing,” Yuuri honestly comments as he admires Victor’s handiwork in the mirror.

Victor hugs him tightly from behind and mourns, “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Don’t,” Yuuri amusedly replies then he gives his seat, “Your turn?”

“Okay~”

Yuuri resists the urge to bit his lips, it will ruin the lipstick, “Hmm, do I really need to do this?” he caresses Victor’s face, “You already look too beautiful as you’re.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” Victor place his hand on top of Yuuri’s.

Yuuri’s smile is a tad wry. He is learning to accept compliments but even with that, he still can’t accept that one, still, “Thank you. Now, how about this color combination? We can have a matching makeup theme.”

“Great!”

* * *

“Mail package,” Yuuri informs as he brings the package to their living room.

“Oh, it’s here?” Victor cheerily says as he strokes Makkachin, and gently ushers it to move away from his lap.

Yuuri gives the package, “Clothes?”

“Yep~!” Victor rips open the packages to reveal two sets of suit formal outfit. One in glossy black with silvery hue shimmers, while the other one is white with blue shimmers.

“Try this on Yuuri!” Victor gives him the white one.

Yuuri raises an eyebrow but goes along with it. The fabric is light and offers a wide range of movements. Rather than a true formal outfit, this feels more like dancing costume tailored to be similar to formal outfit.

“Oooh, that looks good on you!” Victor happily remarks as he touches and pulls Yuuri’s costume to ensure it fits.

“You look great yourself,” Yuuri appreciates the contrast between the black costume, and Victor’s silver hair, “How and when did you get my measurements?”

“I revoke my right to keep my silence,” Victor winks at him.

Yuuri amusedly huffs, “So what is this for?”

“Our exhibition of course!”

Outside of ISU Championship, figure skaters can also attend ice shows and exhibitions for extra income, but wait, “ _Our?_ ”

“Yep,  _our_! ”

“Haaaa…?”

* * *

“I still can’t believe this,” Yuuri whispers as he surveys the multitudes of people busying themselves for the ice show, “How long have you been planning for this again?”

“This is happening, and since May,” Victor looks perfectly happy waiting for their turn with Yuuri.

Yuuri doesn’t continue, but his eyes are darting back and forth, and the grip he has on Victor’s hand slowly tightens.

“Yuuri, it’s okay,” Victor tries.

Yuuri looks disbelievingly at Victor.

Victor gives an encouraging smile, “It will be fine. This is just an exhibition. Nobody is going to take any score. And our pair routine is easy, we can do it even with our eyes closed.”

Yuuri closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. His first time performing after all these years ends up as an exhibition for one of the largest ice shows, and he’ll be performing it with his long-time-idol-turned-fiancée.

Victor hugs Yuuri, and says in a serious tone, “大丈夫(It’s alright), 私だけを見て (look only at me), 残りの世界は重要ではない (the rest of the world doesn’t matter).”

Yuuri lets his thought rest as he lost himself in Victor’s eyes.

Victor gives a charming smile with tender eyes, “さあ 一緒に (then, let’s go together).”

Yuuri nods.

 

The ice reflects the spotlights’ harsh glare and Yuuri feels like he is a having a low-grade fever. But Victor is  _here,_  and Yuuri is living his dream, [to skate on the same ice as Victor], that he thought will forever remain as a bitter broken dream after he quits figure skating.

Yuuri lets out a slightly teary smile which Victor returns with his tender ones.

‘If…’ Yuuri thought as Victor lifts him, ‘If everything that happened in my life leads to this, then I’ll gladly repeat all of them, even the bad and ugly ones, all over again, just to re-experience this.’

 

Yuuri lightly pants as he stares into Victor’s eyes as they adopt their final pose, and the music grandly ends.

“That was perfect Yuuri,” Victor smiles brightly.

“Thank you,” Yuuri lets out a helplessly happy smile, then his attention is ripped from Victor by the loud clapping and cheers the audiences give out. He gasps as he sweeps his eyes around.

“How is it feel?” Victor comments as he waves to the audiences, “This is one of the best parts of being a skater.”

Yuuri nods as he basks on the cheers, “Un, it feels  _great_. Thank you for bringing me here Victor. ”

Seconds later the music starts playing again, this time it sounds like a wedding march and Yuuri snaps out of his post-performing daze, “Eh? Are we supposed to leave already?”

“Nope~” Victor mischievously smiles, “ _Stay._ ”

Yuuri watches with wide eyes as skaters in various white dresses and suits skate in while bringing wedding flowers, and made a circle with them in the center.

Something connects in Yuuri’s brain and his eyes widen, “Victor! まさか!(Don’t tell me!)”

Victor goes down on one knee, kisses Yuuri’s hand and look up straight to his eyes, “Yuuri, marry me?”

“I can’t believe you!!” Yuuri presses his free hand on his chest to calm his raging emotions, “Really Victor?”

Victor brightly smiles.

“Yes, yes of course!” Yuuri breathlessly says.

“Wonderful!” Victor exclaims as he slides a ring. It is a simple looking platinum ring, artfully decorated with rows of blue sapphire and diamond.

‘Trust Victor to buy a ring which would strongly remind me of him,’ Yuuri fondly thought, “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” Victor stands up, “The best thing life has ever given me”, and he kisses him.  

* * *

0-0-0-0

March

World Championship

0-0-0-0

“Now, for the last skater, we have Victor Nikiforov!” the announcer announces.

Victor grandly enters the rink. On his right hand are two rings of gold and platinum.

“His theme for this season is love, and his free is meant to be the expression of his love for his husband, Yuuri Katsuki, who is also his choreographer. The song is an original composition that is titled, [ **Sincerely Yours** ].”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Their wedding ring looks like this](http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-98699804673777/matching-wave-wedding-band-in-18k-gold-sapphire-and-diamond-ring-2.jpg)
> 
> Thank you for reading this ^^!


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